“How do I prove to my leader that internal communications is a “must do” versus a “nice to do?”
“Is there any data out there that makes the business case for good internal comms?”
Some of the most common questions I receive as a professional communicator involve how to justify an investment in internal communications, when so many other functions compete for a company’s dollar.
While most folks I speak with know that good employee communications is just plain, good business sense, they often don’t have data at their fingertips to prove to their leaders that employee engagement directly drives and impacts an organization’s bottom line.
Two invaluable pieces of research I frequently use to make the business case for investing in internal communications focus on the value and power of employee engagement:
Towers and Watson’s 2012 Global Workforce Study found that, “when [employee] engagement starts to decline, companies become vulnerable not only to a measurable drop in productivity, but also to poorer customer service and greater rates of absenteeism and turnover.” Most leaders know that productivity, customer service and absenteeism are behaviors that can directly impact a company’s bottom line, so this can be a compelling point. The words “operating margin” also tend to pique leadership interest, and this report goes on to say that for companies with high sustainable engagement, the average one-year operating margin is close to three times higher than companies with low engagement. That’s powerful stuff!
Another study by Gallup says that companies with engaged employees are more profitable. In its 2013 “The State of the American Workplace” report, Gallup found that organizations with engaged employees have a 3.9 times greater earnings per share compared to organizations in the same industry with low engagement.
These two studies are from credible, world-class consulting organizations with reliable data, and both support the idea that directly investing in employee engagement drives a company’s bottom line. And most people would agree that strong employee engagement starts with stellar internal communications.
So when someone asks you why you’re investing time and money in internal communications (versus sales, marketing, HR or another function,) use this research to make the business case that you can’t afford not to do so!
